Mark Van Bommel is a midfielder who plays for German side Bayern München and the Netherlands. He is also the captain for both his club and national team. Van Bommel first came to prominence with PSV Eindhoven, where he won three Eredivisie titles and was also named Dutch Player of the Year twice during his time with PSV. Van Bommel then joined Barcelona ahead of the 2005-06 season. He only played one season there but that was the season they won the treble. Van Bommel joined Bayern München in August 2006. In his first season with the club he was voted their Player of the Year. In 2008 he became the first non-German to be selected as captain of Bayern München. The club won the German double both in 2008 and 2010. In 2010 also were runners-up in the Champions League, while Van Bommel also came runners-up with Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup. The current head coach of the Dutch national team, Bert van Marwijk, is Mark van Bommel’s father-in-law.

Hamit Altıntop is a midfielder who plays for Spanish side Real Madrid and the Turkish national team. Altıntop is of Turkish parentage but is born and bred in Germany. He started his career with local German side Wattenscheid 09 with his twin brother Halil Altıntop. Hamit was soon picked up by Schalke 04 while Halil went to Kaiserslautern. At Schalke he won the German League Cup and they were also twice runners-up in the Bundesliga. The 2006-07 season was his last at Schalke and Hamit was then also joined by his brother Halil, by then a successful striker. Ahead of the 2007-08 season Hamit Altıntop went to Bayern München on a free transfer. His versatility in midfield soon secured him a spot amongst Bayern’s starting XI. With Bayern he has won 2 Bundesliga titles, 2 German Cups, 1 German League Cup and been runners-up in the 2010 UEFA Champions League final. In May 2011 he moved on a free transfer to Real Madrid, signing a four year contract.
Hamit Altıntop has played for Turkey since 2004 and was their best player in Euro 2008, where Turkey made it to the semifinals. His brother also plays for Turkey and since January 2010 with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Franck Ribéry is a left winger who plays for German side Bayern München and the French national team. Ribéry is a real impact player and was named French Footballer of the Year in 2007 and 2008. He was also Player of the Year in Germany in 2008. He arrived at Bayern München in June 2007 and won the German double with the club in the 2007-08 season and the 2009-10 season. In the latter they were also runners-up in the Champions League. Prior to this Ribéry had played for various French clubs, except for a brief stint at Galatasary in Turkey. He had two exceptional seasons for Olympique de Marseille in 2005-06 and 2006-07. He was included in the French national team just before the 2006 FIFA World Cup and went on to enjoy a great World Cup with France reaching the final. After that several top clubs in Europe were seeking his signature but Bayern München were successful paying Marseille a then club-record €25 million.

Sebastian Giovinco is an attacking midfielder on loan to Parma from Juventus. He made his debut for Juventus’ first-team in May 2007, at the age of 20. He spent the 2007-08 season on loan at Empoli, with several strong performances in both Serie A and in the UEFA Cup. Empoli were still relegated at the end of the season and he returned to Juventus. The next two season Giovinco found himself on the bench much of the time, despite delivering some excellent performances. Giovinco has also played U-21 football and in the 2008 Olympics for Italy.